A brassiere may include a fastening means to connect and hold the brassiere around the wearer. Conventional fastening means comprise complementary interlocking rigid wire hooks and eyes. The hooks and eyes may be located on hook and eye pads respectively. The hook and eye pads are usually joined to sidewings of the brassiere which extend from the cups of the brassiere around the back of the wearer. The sidewings may also connect to straps which are worn over the shoulder to provide support to the cups of the brassiere.
Typically, the hook and eye pads are joined to the sidewings of a brassiere by sewing the hook or eyed pad to the free end of the sidewing. In such a manner of attachment the stitches are conspicuous and may also produce discomfort in the wearer due to the seams and uneven edges or surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,635 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,563,152 describe a hook or eye pad sandwiched between an outer layer and an inner layer of a brassiere wing. The hooks or eyes extend through apertures in the inner or outer layer of the brassiere wing to the exterior of the wing. Japanese Patent Application Publication number 2004-263315 describes a brassiere wing which folds around a hook or eye pad, with the hooks or eyes extending through apertures in the brassiere wing. Apertures formed in the layers of the brassiere sidewing may weaken the sidewing and make it more susceptible to damage during washing. In addition, the hooks or eyes could move back through the apertures, making fastening difficult.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the above-described problems.